Question on keeping Channa Gachua.

[WaterBottles]

Hi all,

I am very very intrigued by snakeheads and is thinking of keeping a dwarf snakehead so I am looking into the Channa gachua and Channa bleheri.

I got some questions regarding keeping them.

1. I do not have much space and the biggest tank I can own would be 33L, 60cm x 23cm x 28cm. Is it possible to keep 1 dwarf snakehead in the tank?

2. Starting off, I would not have a oxygen supply for the tank, I am thinking of getting rocks, moss, surface plants and driftwoord for the snakehead to hide. would this be enough?

3. What kind of filters would you recommend?

Thank you!

 

[Brucki]

That tank is even tooo small for some guppys. Sorry not suitable even for a single channa

 

[WaterBottles]

That tank is even tooo small for some guppys. Sorry not suitable even for a single channa

Ahh man, I was hoping it was possible as I read one post on a forum where a user was going through different species of snakehead and said it was possible to fit one in a smaller tank

 

[Mazhar26]

Ahh man, I was hoping it was possible as I read one post on a forum where a user was going through different species of snakehead and said it was possible to fit one in a smaller tank

if u really want to have one , go for channa andrao, they r nearly 5" long, but only one fish, I have a pair in a 90*30*45

 

[WaterBottles]

if u really want to have one , go for channa andrao, they r nearly 5" long, but only one fish, I have a pair in a 90*30*45

Awesome! Will check them our and see if I can get em at my LFS

 

[Hendre]

There are some micro species. also remember very small waterchanges once a year or so, that is what one big snakehead keeper does.

10-20% once a year with heavy planting and infrequent feeding. large water changes can disrupt a pairs harmony and they might kill each other

 

[WaterBottles]

There are some micro species. also remember very small waterchanges once a year or so, that is what one big snakehead keeper does.

10-20% once a year with heavy planting and infrequent feeding. large water changes can disrupt a pairs harmony and they might kill each other

Awesome advice, I have been looking around the web. Beside this website, what are some other that is good for snakehead information.

I am only thinking of keeping 1 micro snakehead so I dont think that should be a problem. What are some plants / cover you would recommend that is "easy" to keep in terms of not needing a CO2 system?

Also, what are you thoughts on feeding live fish to the snake head?

 

[Hendre]

Woo somebody that takes advice

A good tank for snakehead that doesn't need co2 isnt very difficult. Java fern and anubias can be rooted to wood in the tank, which i highly recommend to reduce PH and provide extra hiding spots. Some Amazon frogbit, elodea or hornwort are also easy plants to keep that float and provide surface cover.

I would just recommend mineral plant supplements since the lower feeding levels and waterchanges creates a lack of minerals for the plants. if Seachem Flourish is available i recommend that for you

As for live fish i would not recommend it, they can introduce parasites and are not always the most nutritious. If you do need to breeding and gut loading guppies with nutritious foods can work for you, but i would stick to pellets, worms, insects and other meaty foods for the sake of convenience and health

This link may also help a bit

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/readers-tanks/articles/Your tanks: Paul Jones, 'snake' charmer

 

[WaterBottles]

Woo somebody that takes advice

A good tank for snakehead that doesn't need co2 isnt very difficult. Java fern and anubias can be rooted to wood in the tank, which i highly recommend to reduce PH and provide extra hiding spots. Some Amazon frogbit, elodea or hornwort are also easy plants to keep that float and provide surface cover.

I would just recommend mineral plant supplements since the lower feeding levels and waterchanges creates a lack of minerals for the plants. if Seachem Flourish is available i recommend that for you

As for live fish i would not recommend it, they can introduce parasites and are not always the most nutritious. If you do need to breeding and gut loading guppies with nutritious foods can work for you, but i would stick to pellets, worms, insects and other meaty foods for the sake of convenience and health

This link may also help a bit

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/readers-tanks/articles/Your tanks: Paul Jones, 'snake' charmer

Awesome! Thank you for the reply. Will definitely check out that link.

Ahh, never knew feeding live fish was such a bad idea as that was one of they key points of keeping Snakeheads for me haha! But I guess bugs and worms will work too.

Looks like my plan of keeping a snakehead would be postponed due to some personal matters but it is also a good thing as I might be able to get a bigger tank!

Will update you guys in the future when the tank is all set up!

 

[Hendre]

Awesome! Thank you for the reply. Will definitely check out that link.

Ahh, never knew feeding live fish was such a bad idea as that was one of they key points of keeping Snakeheads for me haha! But I guess bugs and worms will work too.

Looks like my plan of keeping a snakehead would be postponed due to some personal matters but it is also a good thing as I might be able to get a bigger tank!

Will update you guys in the future when the tank is all set up!

Awesome! live fish are really not so great unless completely necessary, and i avoid them completely.

I avoided snakehead due to the amount of money needed here to get a small group and then have only 2 left over

May i ask where you are based?